Ratropolis

About

"Ratropolis is a real-time strategic tower defense card game where you must protect a besieged mouse city using over 500 military, economic, and building cards. Choose from six distinct leaders, each with their own abilities, to rebuild and defend the city. With around 100 ever-changing events, each playthrough offers a new experience."

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

+22

87%

Audience ScoreBased on 3,391 reviews

gameplay192 positive mentions

grinding52 negative mentions

Unique blend of deck-building, tower defense, and city-building mechanics that keeps gameplay fresh and engaging.
Each of the six leaders offers distinct playstyles and strategies, providing a high level of replayability.
Charming art style and cute character designs that enhance the overall experience.

Difficulty spikes significantly around wave 20, making it frustrating for new players and leading to a reliance on RNG.
Poor unit management controls make it cumbersome to move troops effectively, especially during chaotic moments.
Lack of a save feature during runs can be frustrating, as players must complete a game in one sitting.

gameplay
656 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
67%
4%
The gameplay of Ratropolis is a dynamic blend of real-time strategy, deck-building, and tower defense mechanics, offering a fast-paced and engaging experience. Players appreciate the variety of leaders and their unique abilities, which contribute to diverse strategies, though some criticize the balance issues and lack of clear explanations for mechanics. While the game is addictive and visually charming, it can become repetitive and overwhelming due to its complexity and the need for quick decision-making, especially in higher difficulty levels.
- “The gameplay is challenging in the perfect way.”
- “With its addictive gameplay, charming art style, and high replayability, it's no wonder I found myself sinking 94 hours into this delightful game.”
- “The fast-paced nature of the gameplay and the rogue-lite mechanics keeps things interesting and challenging.”
- “Game has incredible balance issues; losing a round doesn't teach you anything, and the gameplay is slow.”
- “The game does very little to explain the mechanics, so the player is left to do trial and error.”
- “But it becomes a slog of just repetitive gameplay as it sends an unbeatable horde your way.”
graphics
184 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
52%
46%
2%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their charming and cute art style, which effectively balances appeal with a touch of brutality where necessary. Players appreciate the unique visuals for different factions and locations, enhancing the overall experience and satisfaction of gameplay. While some note that animations can be simple, the attention to detail in character and card designs contributes to a visually engaging atmosphere that complements the game's mechanics.
- “The unique visuals for each of the different factions, as well as the different visuals for the different locations in the game, make it very satisfying just to zoom out and look at the settlement you have built.”
- “The graphics are cute; you're playing a nation of rats after all, and seeing those rodents dressed up in various armor and wielding a variety of weapons does give each unit type their own feel.”
- “The art style and attention to detail is just mind-blowing ... well above all it is a great game.”
- “The graphics are sort of cartoony and, err, kind of 90's-looking?”
- “A difficult game hiding behind a cutesy art style and a casual facade, attracting the wrong audience and not providing enough to keep hardcore players interested.”
- “It's like if an old Newgrounds flash game got better graphics and came to Steam.”
replayability
170 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
48%
48%
4%
The game exhibits high replayability due to its diverse characters, unique playstyles, and various difficulty levels, allowing players to experiment with different strategies and builds. However, some users noted that replay value diminishes after mastering the game or reaching certain milestones, as the core mechanics can become repetitive. Overall, many players found the game engaging and addictive, with enough variety to keep them returning for more.
- “With its addictive gameplay, charming art style, and high replayability, it's no wonder I found myself sinking 94 hours into this delightful game.”
- “Each character has a unique play style, requiring different strategies to beat the map, adding a lot of replay value.”
- “It has an epic amount of replayability between the 6 playable characters, 20 difficulty levels, and 3 maps.”
- “Sadly, it lacks in replayability due to a limited and highly repetitive main game.”
- “My other big ding is that the game really lacks replayability.”
- “Other negative reviews came from people playing many hours; they enjoyed the game until they had 'solved the puzzle,' so to speak. They found the optimal strategy, and once you do, the replayability really does take a hit.”
story
94 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
74%
11%
The game's story is described as enjoyable but lacking depth, with many players wishing for a more structured narrative or campaign mode. While the backdrop of a rat civilization's downfall due to rapid innovation is intriguing, the execution feels minimal, with only small written events and choices that don't significantly enhance the gameplay experience. Overall, the charming artwork and character interactions are appreciated, but there is a strong desire for more substantial storytelling elements.
- “The story being that the rat civilization destroyed itself through rapid innovation, which scattered its populous and made them weak to attack from their many predators as well as the remains of the failed experiments on their rat brethren.”
- “But now after witnessing the rich content, it is a fully replayable, lots-of-builds, deckbuilding, tower defense, survival story.”
- “Challenging, original take on classic game types, story, complex this game has it all.”
- “🔲 This game has no story.”
- “All levels feel the same and there is zero story aside from intro and small written events with multiple choice picks.”
- “There is no storyline to the game, just pure gameplay.”
grinding
56 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
2%
5%
93%
Reviews indicate that grinding in the game is a mixed experience, with many players finding it tedious and frustrating due to repetitive tasks and inefficient rewards. While some appreciate the need for strategic engagement rather than mindless grinding, others criticize the artificial barriers to content and the overall lack of variety, leading to a sense of chore-like gameplay. Despite these criticisms, a few players find enjoyment in the unique character builds and mechanics, suggesting that grinding can be manageable if balanced with engaging gameplay elements.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “I do not understand why, in a game that already has a difficulty scaling system, the standard difficulty had to be made into a tedious grind compared to what the game could have been.”
- “I barely have a 25% win ratio so far and maybe it gets better down the line after grinding levels, but the grinding feels more like a chore than anything, especially since the rewards for leveling up don't seem to be that efficient.”
- “The set of cards is easily obtainable in every run by wave 20 and it is much stronger than anything else that I've seen, making it the only strategy, but it's super boring: click on barracks, get new hand - auto play mining and other cards, click on barracks, get new hand -- auto play your cards, click on barracks... if you decide to grind through all 140 waves in nightmare mode, it'll be about 4 hours of this rinse-repeat routine with no variety (I quit at wave 70, it became too tedious).”
music
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
48%
45%
7%
The music in the game is generally well-received, with many praising its fitting and immersive quality, though some note it can become repetitive quickly. While the soundtrack is described as decent and enjoyable, several reviewers express a desire for more variety, as currently, it features limited tracks. Overall, the music complements the game's art style effectively, but it is considered one of the weaker aspects, especially in early access.
- “The soundtrack is particularly magnificent, but the voice effects are very comical.”
- “The music and art style are very well matched and create an immersive atmosphere; sound effects and graphical elements have a high quality and are very cohesive.”
- “The graphics and music are great.”
- “The sounds and music get pretty repetitive fast.”
- “However, the music will get on your nerves fast, as will the sounds of the rats.”
- “I would say at this moment (reminder: early access) the music is the weakest part of the game.”
stability
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is notably problematic, with users reporting frequent bugs and glitches that hinder gameplay, such as a freezing pause function and various visual issues. Many players have expressed frustration over the lack of basic quality of life features, including the inability to save and resume games. Overall, the game feels unpolished and in need of significant improvements to its stability.
- “Buggy and lacking in basic quality of life features.”
- “You can pause, but it freezes the game; you can't input anything or even mouse over your cards to read them.”
- “I expected real time with pause, but it's actually real time with a pause button that freezes the game and you can't act for some reason.”
humor
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is widely appreciated, with players finding it funny and charming, particularly due to its well-crafted mechanics and charismatic artwork. Many reviews highlight the amusing dynamics between characters, especially the builder's overpowering abilities, which add a layer of hilarity to gameplay. Overall, the game's cute and funny elements, along with endorsements from popular content creators, contribute to its comedic appeal.
- “A game with well-crafted mechanics accompanied by funny and charismatic artwork.”
- “Navi is beyond broken with his leader ability, which is hilariously fun but most likely going to be nerfed, and you play him based on what quests you get.”
- “Cute and funny gameplay.”
atmosphere
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
37%
13%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its immersive quality, with a fun and cohesive blend of music, art style, and sound effects that enhance the overall experience. Reviewers highlight the impactful thematic elements, particularly the unique atmosphere created by the presence of rats, contributing to the game's artistic appeal.
- “This is a piece of art that really hits the spot with the atmosphere and theme.”
- “I love the fun atmosphere the game has.”
- “The music and art style are very well matched and create an immersive atmosphere; sound effects and graphical elements have a high quality and are very cohesive.”
- “But the atmosphere the rats give it is just incredible.”
emotional
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express a strong emotional response to the game, with some feeling miserable while playing, indicating a significant impact on their mood. However, there is a consensus that the game lacks deeper emotional engagement, leaving some players wanting more connection to the characters and story.
- “Never have I ever played a game that made me feel so deeply connected to the characters and their struggles.”
- “This game truly captures the essence of emotional storytelling, making every moment feel impactful.”
- “It made me feel like I was immersed in a world filled with rich narratives and heartfelt experiences.”
optimization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
16%
67%
The game is highly addictive, but players report significant optimization issues, particularly after wave 30, and find the initial gameplay too easy and poorly optimized overall. Despite the engaging mechanics of random card chances and permanent unlocks, the lack of optimization detracts from the experience.
- “Each run has a random chance for cards, with permanent unlocks based on performance.”
- “It is really addicting to play, but you will find that the game isn't super optimized for post wave 30.”
- “The first game is too easy, but is very poorly optimized.”
- “Each run has a random chance for cards and permanent unlocks after each run based on performance.”

85%Critics’ scoreBased on 2 critic reviews

Buy Ratropolis

25h Median play time

37h Average play time

11-80h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 40 analyzed playthroughs

Videos

87%1.8kreviews

Dice & Fold

2024

Casual Role Playing

80%3.9kreviews

Rogue Tower

2022

Survival Strategy

This game contains adult content

87%11.1kreviews

The Last Spell

2023

Tactical Role Playing

90%772reviews

Tower Tactics: Liberation

2023

Strategy

90%13.5kreviews

Monster Train

2020

Role Playing

+13

78%1.2kreviews

Arcanium: Rise of Akhan

2022

Role Playing

97%15.5kreviews

Thronefall

2024

Survival Action Adventure

78%1.8kreviews

Monster Slayers

2017

Arcade Role Playing

This game contains adult content

76%3.1kreviews

Legend of Keepers

2021

Role Playing

87%215reviews

Warlords Under Siege

2022

Survival Strategy

Ratropolis Tweets

Ratropolis

Platforms

About

Ratropolis - Review

Ratropolis - Review

Buy Ratropolis

Ratropolis

Ratropolis (PC) - Steam Gift - JAPAN

Ratropolis

Ratropolis

Videos

Games Like Ratropolis

Dice & Fold

Rogue Tower

The Last Spell

Tower Tactics: Liberation

Monster Train

Arcanium: Rise of Akhan

Thronefall

Monster Slayers

Legend of Keepers

Warlords Under Siege